Lithuania Readies for the Arrival of their New FSRU

Lithuania continues to ready the country’s infrastructure for the upcoming arrival of 170,000 cbm FSRU Independence to the Port of Klaipeda.

Independence is the second of four FSRUs built by Hyundai Heavy Industries for Norwegian company Hoegh LNG. This vessel is designed to store and regasify LNG which is then sent ashore.

Klaipedos Nafta, the developer and future operator of the LNG terminal, signed a 10 year charter for the FSRU with Hoegh LNG in March 2012 and chose the FSRU option rather than an onshore regasification option because it presented a 50 percent lower capital investment and allowed at least a 2-year shorter time line for project implementation.

It is expected that the Independence will be delivered to Lithuania in the end of November with operations commencing in December.

In the first year Lithuania plans to import more than 1 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas which will pass through the FSRU Independence.

This will be the first step to Lithuania’s independence from Russian natural gas and in the next few years, Lithuania plans to expand the supply of gas through a floating installation up to 4 billion cubic meters.